Mo. Rev. Stat. § 211.031 : — PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFAREJUVENILE COURTS — Juvenile court to have exclusive jurisdiction, when - exceptions - home schooling, attendance violations, how treated

1. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the juvenile court or the family court in circuits that have a family court as provided in chapter 487 shall have exclusive original jurisdiction in proceedings:

(1) Involving any child or person seventeen years of age who may be a resident of or found within the county and who is alleged to be in need of care and treatment because:

(a) The parents, or other persons legally responsible for the care and support of the child or person seventeen years of age, neglect or refuse to provide proper support, education which is required by law, medical, surgical or other care necessary for his or her well-being; except that reliance by a parent, guardian or custodian upon remedial treatment other than medical or surgical treatment for a child or person seventeen years of age shall not be construed as neglect when the treatment is recognized or permitted pursuant to the laws of this state;

(b) The child or person seventeen years of age is otherwise without proper care, custody or support;

(c) The child or person seventeen years of age was living in a room, building or other structure at the time such dwelling was found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be a public nuisance pursuant to section 579.105 ^**; or

(d) The child or person seventeen years of age is a child in need of mental health services and the parent, guardian or custodian is unable to afford or access appropriate mental health treatment or care for the child;

(2) Involving any child who may be a resident of or found within the county and who is alleged to be in need of care and treatment because:

(a) The child while subject to compulsory school attendance is repeatedly and without justification absent from school;

(b) The child disobeys the reasonable and lawful directions of his or her parents or other custodian and is beyond their control;

(c) The child is habitually absent from his or her home without sufficient cause, permission, or justification;

(d) The behavior or associations of the child are otherwise injurious to his or her welfare or to the welfare of others; or

(e) The child is charged with an offense not classified as criminal, or with an offense applicable only to children; except that, the juvenile court shall not have jurisdiction over any child fifteen years of age who is alleged to have violated a state or municipal traffic ordinance or regulation, the violation of which does not constitute a felony, or any child who is alleged to have violated a state or municipal ordinance or regulation prohibiting possession or use of any tobacco product;

(3) Involving any child who is alleged to have violated a state law or municipal ordinance, or any person who is alleged to have violated a state law or municipal ordinance prior to attaining the age of seventeen years, in which cases jurisdiction may be taken by the court of the circuit in which the child or person resides or may be found or in which the violation is alleged to have occurred; except that, the juvenile court shall not have jurisdiction over any child fifteen years of age who is alleged to have violated a state or municipal traffic ordinance or regulation, the violation of which does not constitute a felony, and except that the juvenile court shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the municipal court over any child who is alleged to have violated a municipal curfew ordinance, and except that the juvenile court shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit court on any child who is alleged to have violated a state or municipal ordinance or regulation prohibiting possession or use of any tobacco product;

(4) For the adoption of a person;

(5) For the commitment of a child or person seventeen years of age to the guardianship of the department of social services as provided by law;

(6) Involving an order of protection pursuant to chapter 455 when the respondent is less than seventeen years of age;

(7) Involving any youth for whom a petition to return the youth to children's division custody has been filed under section 211.036; and

(8) Involving a child who has been a victim of sex trafficking or sexual exploitation.

2. Transfer of a matter, proceeding, jurisdiction or supervision for a child or person seventeen years of age who resides in a county of this state shall be made as follows:

(1) Prior to the filing of a petition and upon request of any party or at the discretion of the juvenile officer, the matter in the interest of a child or person seventeen years of age may be transferred by the juvenile officer, with the prior consent of the juvenile officer of the receiving court, to the county of the child's residence or the residence of the person seventeen years of age for future action;

(2) Upon the motion of any party or on its own motion prior to final disposition on the pending matter, the court in which a proceeding is commenced may transfer the proceeding of a child or person seventeen years of age to the court located in the county of the child's residence or the residence of the person seventeen years of age, or the county in which the offense pursuant to subdivision (3) of subsection 1 of this section is alleged to have occurred for further action;

(3) Upon motion of any party or on its own motion, the court in which jurisdiction has been taken pursuant to subsection 1 of this section may at any time thereafter transfer jurisdiction of a child or person seventeen years of age to the court located in the county of the child's residence or the residence of the person seventeen years of age for further action with the prior consent of the receiving court;

(4) Upon motion of any party or upon its own motion at any time following a judgment of disposition or treatment pursuant to section 211.181, the court having jurisdiction of the cause may place the child or person seventeen years of age under the supervision of another juvenile court within or without the state pursuant to section 210.570 with the consent of the receiving court;

(5) Upon motion of any child or person seventeen years of age or his or her parent, the court having jurisdiction shall grant one change of judge pursuant to Missouri supreme court rules;

(6) Upon the transfer of any matter, proceeding, jurisdiction or supervision of a child or person seventeen years of age, certified copies of all legal and social documents and records pertaining to the case on file with the clerk of the transferring juvenile court shall accompany the transfer.

3. In any proceeding involving any child or person seventeen years of age taken into custody in a county other than the county of the child's residence or the residence of a person seventeen years of age, the juvenile court of the county of the child's residence or the residence of a person seventeen years of age shall be notified of such taking into custody within seventy-two hours.

4. When an investigation by a juvenile officer pursuant to this section reveals that the only basis for action involves an alleged violation of section 167.031 involving a child who alleges to be home schooled, the juvenile officer shall contact a parent or parents of such child to verify that the child is being home schooled and not in violation of section 167.031 before making a report of such a violation. Any report of a violation of section 167.031 made by a juvenile officer regarding a child who is being home schooled shall be made to the prosecuting attorney of the county where the child legally resides.

5. The disability or disease of a parent shall not constitute a basis for a determination that a child is a child in need of care or for the removal of custody of a child from the parent without a specific showing that there is a causal relation between the disability or disease and harm to the child.

§ 211.031, RSMo

Amended by 2022 Mo. Laws, SB 775,s A, eff. 8/28/2022.

Amended by 2018 Mo. Laws, SB 800,s A, eff. 1/1/2021.

Amended by 2018 Mo. Laws, SB 793,s A, eff. 1/1/2021.

Amended by 2016 Mo. Laws, HB 1877,s A, eff. 8/28/2016.

L. 1957 p. 642 § 211.030, A.L. 1976 S.B. 511, A.L. 1980 S.B. 512, A.L. 1983 S.B. 368, A.L. 1989 H.B. 502, et al., A.L. 1990 H.B. 1030, A.L. 1991 H.B. 202 & 364, A.L. 1993 H.B. 346, A.L. 1999 S.B. 1, et al., A.L. 2002 S.B. 923, et al., A.L. 2004H.B. 1453 merged with S.B. 945 and S.B. 803 & 1257 merged with S.B. 1211, A.L. 2005H.B. 353 , A.L. 2011H.B. 555 merged with H.B. 604 merged with H.B. 648 merged with S.B. 320, A.L. 2012H.B. 1171 merged with S.B. 628 merged with S.B. 636

*This section was amended by both S.B. 793 and S.B. 800, 2018. Due to a delayed effective date, both versions are printed.

**Section 195.130 was transferred to section 579.105 by S.B. 491, 2014, and H.B. 1371, 2014, effective 1-01-17.